Vancouver, British Columbia — January 6, 2026 — Leads & Copy —

Nations Royalty Corp. has appointed Derrick Pattenden as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Pattenden succeeds Robert McLeod, who has served as founder, CEO, and Director since the company’s inception.

McLeod will continue to serve as a Director to support a seamless leadership transition. He is stepping into the role of CEO of Ascot Resources Ltd. Nations Royalty has royalty interests in the Premier and Red Mountain deposits owned by Ascot.

McLeod said founding Nations Royalty with the Nisga’a Nation and guiding it through its early stages has been an incredibly meaningful journey. As the company enters its next phase of growth, the Board believes this is the right time to transition leadership to Pattenden.

McLeod added that Pattenden brings deep industry expertise, capital markets experience, and a strong understanding of the company’s assets and values. One of the company’s key goals is for an Indigenous management, and McLeod is excited for Pattenden to take on the roll of CEO.

McLeod said he has full confidence in Pattenden’s ability to lead Nations Royalty forward, and he looks forward to continuing to support the company as a director.

Pattenden is a band member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation and has served as the company’s Chief Investment Officer since May 2024. He was appointed to the Board of Directors at the company’s most recent Annual General & Special Meeting. With over 15 years of experience in the mining industry, Pattenden has an extensive background in finance, mergers, and acquisitions.

Pattenden holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mining Engineering from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Pattenden said he would like to thank McLeod for his leadership in establishing and building this company. He added that McLeod’s vision was instrumental in creating Canada’s first majority Indigenous-owned publicly traded mining royalty company. As the company transitions into its next phase, Pattenden said he is grateful that McLeod will remain actively involved as a Director, contributing his deep knowledge of the company’s assets, the Golden Triangle region, and the relationships that underpin its success. Pattenden said he looks forward to building on this strong foundation as the company advances its strategic objectives.

Nations Royalty’s vision is to unite First Nations and Indigenous groups across Canada, welcoming external investors to join the Company as shareholders. Together, they will combine royalties, income and commodity streams and annual benefit payment entitlements from resource projects, tapping into the growth, diversification and value potential typical of publicly traded royalty companies. As a leader in the spirit of economic reconciliation, Nations Royalty’s mission includes capacity building of Indigenous People in public companies and capital markets.

Nations Royalty’s foundation begins with five annual benefit payment entitlements in place in respect of the following properties in Canada:

• The high-grade Brucejack gold mine operated by Newmont Corporation;
• The KSM Copper-Gold-Silver-Molybdenum deposit, currently in development by Seabridge Gold Inc.;
• The Premier Gold Project, currently evaluating a restart decision by Ascot Resources Ltd.;
• The Red Mountain Gold Deposit, owned by Ascot Resources Ltd.; and
• The Kitsault Molybdenum Deposit, a large, fully permitted brownfield site owned and being actively advanced by New Moly LLC, majority-owned by Resource Capital Fund VI L.P.

Derrick Pattenden, President, CEO and Director of Nations Royalty Corp. can be reached at derrick.pattenden@nationsroyalty.ca or (604) 609-6126.

Kody Penner, VP Corporate Development can be reached at kody.penner@nationsroyalty.ca or (604) 356-4995.

Source: Nations Royalty Corp.